1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to apparatus for stimulating plant growth under controlled conditions and, more particularly, to novel and highly-effective apparatus that is better adapted than prior apparatus to be shipped in a fully assembled state from the factory to the consumer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art that is the most relevant to the present invention is apparatus the utilitarian features of which are best disclosed in applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 4,850,135, issued July 25, 1989, and the aesthetic features of which are best illustrated in applicant's related design U.S. Pat. Application Ser. No. 07/160,924, filed Feb. 26, 1988.
Applicant's prior apparatus as disclosed in these documents is sold for the purpose of stimulating plant growth under controlled conditions. The apparatus comprises a housing having a lower base portion, an upper cap portion, a hollow interior in which plants are grown and an exterior. Fluorescent lamps mounted within the interior stimulate growth of the plants. The housing is formed with vacuum-metalized walls or panels which, when illuminated by the lamps, reflect a major proportion of light into the interior. The housing is further formed with a lower vent and an upper vent to facilitate. circulation of air through the interior. The lower vent substantially surrounds the lower portion of the housing and the upper vent substantially surrounds the upper portion of the housing to optimize the flow of air. The lower and upper vents are formed and located with respect to the lamps and walls so as substantially to block passage of light through the vents from the interior to the exterior.
It is believed that applicant's prior apparatus as disclosed in the cited documents is the most advanced, sophisticated and successful laboratory apparatus that has been developed heretofore for the purpose of maximizing the production of plants per unit of space-time, minimizing the inter-nodal length between budding sites, and optimizing the "root-to-shoot-to-fruit ratio." It facilitates performing carefully controlled experiments relating to plant physiology and enables regulating and optimizing the conditions of plant growth.
While the apparatus performs flawlessly when manufactured and assembled at the factory, it is necessary, in order to maximize the benefits of the apparatus in laboratories throughout the nation and throughout the world, to ship the apparatus over great distances.
This presents two choices, neither wholly satisfactory in view of the state of the art prior to the present invention.
A first possibility is to ship the apparatus in a fully assembled state from the factory to the end user. It is possible in this way to ensure that the apparatus is assembled and adjusted in accordance with the highest standards prior to shipment. It is not possible, however, to control the handling of the apparatus by the shipping company. It must anticipated on the basis of wide experience that a certain percentage of shipments will be badly handled. Specifically, the apparatus may be dropped or shipped on its side or upside down, regardless of special-handling labels that may be applied to its packaging.
It is not a complete solution to this problem to provide a rugged shipped container. This is precision laboratory apparatus that may stand a meter or more in height and that has significant amounts of delicate electrical equipment, fluorescent lamps, etc., and is subject to damage from inertial forces even if the packaging is state-of-the-art. The fluorescent lamps in particular are subject to breakage. For reasons explained in the patent referred to above, the fluorescent lamps are U-shaped. They are plugged in at the open ends of the U, and the other end, which contains the U bend, is not well supported. The lamps are mounted essentially in cantilever fashion.
There is thus a considerable mass at a considerable distance from the fulcrum represented by the sockets into which the lamps is plugged. A substantial moment is therefore developed about the fulcrum because of the weight of the lamps when the apparatus is tipped on its side. It is compounded if the apparatus is dropped so that it lands on its side. In such a case, even with the best packaging, the fluorescent lamps are apt to be broken.
The foregoing argues against shipping the apparatus in a fully assembled state and suggests the possibility of shipping the apparatus in a disassembled state, each component being carefully packaged to avoid breakage or other damage during shipment. It is possible in this way to ensure with a high degree of probability that all of the components will arrive in good condition for assembly.
However, as noted above, this is precision laboratory apparatus and is ideally assembled and adjusted in the factory. Most end users lack the training and sophistication to assemble such apparatus in a manner that ensures that it will perform to its design specifications. Moreover, the apparatus includes electrical components, and the plants grown in it must be watered. The electrical components must be assembled in such a manner as to minimize the probability of contact with water. The hazard to the consumer that will result from improper assembly is potentially very serious and even fatal.
Even laboratory technicians may lack the training and sophistication to assemble the apparatus properly. The apparatus is used in botanical laboratories by users who may be highly trained in plant physiology but in general are not highly trained in the assembly of electronic apparatus.
It may be assumed at first blush that a solution to the problem is to establish a worldwide distribution and warehousing network such that the apparatus can be shipped disassembled to a distribution warehouse that is manned by personnel who have the requisite expertise to assemble the apparatus for the end user. This however does not avoid the need to ship the apparatus after its assembly from the warehouse to end user. It also complicates the problem of quality control, since the same high standards maintained at the factory must now be maintained at numerous worldwide locations.